Md. Comptroller’s Office targets cigarette smugglers
The I-95 corridor used to be known for drug running up and down the East Coast but now traffickers of a different kind are using that route. Cigarette smugglers are finding the cheap prices and low tax rates in Virginia a big incentive to break the law. In fact, cigarette smuggling has become as profitable as trafficking heroin or cocaine. “The money is huge. The money is as big as running illegal narcotics,” explained an agent.
Lear MoreMiddle Eastern crime gangs main players in Australia’s illegal tobacco boom
The gangs are flooding our cities with illegal cigarettes and tobacco as they seek to cash in on smokers looking to save money on the black market.
Figures reveal a huge increase in the importation of illegal cigarettes and “chop chop” tobacco via sea and air over the past year.
The chief executive of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, Roman Quaedvlieg, said authorities were now contending with “more players” in the black market, with increasing numbers of criminals attracted to the lucrative business.
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Md. Comptroller’s Office targets cigarette smugglers
WASHINGTON (WUSA9)–The I-95 corridor used to be known for drug running up and down the East Coast but now traffickers of a different kind are using that route. Cigarette smugglers are finding the cheap prices and low tax rates in Virginia a big incentive to break the law. In fact, cigarette smuggling has become as profitable as trafficking heroin or cocaine. “The money is huge. The money is as big as running illegal narcotics,” explained an agent.
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Fake Makeup Products Contain Poisonous Chemicals, Human Urine, Rats’ Droppings
We all love a good bargain, but the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), part of the City of London Police, is ringing the alarm on the dangers of falling for a bargain when it comes to makeup products, especially “designer” items.
With the number of purchases for cosmetic products increasing online, as compared to those in brick-and-mortar stores, so has the number of fakes being passed for the real deal.
That you’re getting a cheap product for a higher price tag, while you’re thinking you got a designer item isn’t even the worst part: these fakes come with considerable health risks, from infections to rashes and burns, because they are produced in an environment lacking proper control and regulation, with dangerous ingredients.
Over 10 retailers in Fairfield and Cabramatta are selling illicit tobacco By Bianca Perez
CABRAMATTA and Fairfield have been identified as Australia’s top two suburbs to have the highest number of retailers selling illicit tobacco.
Investigations carried out by imperial Tobacco Australia, Philip Morris and British American Tobacco Australia last year found that the estimated number of traders selling illicit tobacco in Cabramatta and Fairfield was more than 10.
Chop Chop – Illegal tobacco issue worsening
The importation and sale of illegally imported tobacco is a worsening problem in NSW and the big tobacco companies are threatening to do something about.
Alarmed at what they see as government inaction, big tobacco have spoken about plans to launch a range of super cheap, legal cigarettes which could be sold for as little as $9 a pack.
Illegal tobacco – often referred to as chop chop – can be purchased ‘under the counter’ from dodgy retailers around the city for a fraction of the price of legally imported tobacco. Illegal sales have been detected 28 times around Sydney.
Cross-border cigarette smuggling ring on trial in China
Nine Chinese nationals stood trial in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on charges of smuggling, tax evasion and illegal trading. The suspects allegedly smuggled nearly 30 million packets of cigarettes, with an estimated tax evasion of around 415 million yuan (about 67 million U.S. dollars), according to the Intermediate People’s Court of Fangchenggang City.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-05/11/c_134229256.htm
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Luxury goods maker Kering sues Alibaba over counterfeit products
Luxury product maker Kering, which includes brands such as Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, has again filed suit against Alibaba for aiding the sales of counterfeit versions of its products. The Paris-based firm withdrew a similar complaint in August 2014 after the Chinese tech giant agreed to work.
But that effort hasn’t been successful enough for Kering. “This lawsuit is part of Kering’s ongoing global effort to maintain its customers’ trust in its genuine products and to continue to develop the creative works and talents in its brands,” the company said in a statement.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/05/17/kering-sues-alibaba-over-counterfeit-goods/27493425/
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Alibaba Reveals a New Kind of QR Code to Fight Counterfeits
CHINESE E-COMMERCE GIANT Alibaba has a fake goods problem. The company knows it, and the Chinese government has made abundantly clear it knows, too. Now, to combat counterfeits, the company has come up with a solution: Slap unique QR code-like tags on every product.
Today, in conjunction with the Israeli startupVisualead, Alibaba debuted what it’s calling dotless visual codes. The codes resemble traditional QR codes with patterns of dots in all four corners. Unlike QR codes, Alibaba’s version can include images in the middle of the code, which can help with more visual branding efforts, says Nevo Alva, cofounder and CEO of Visualead.
http://www.wired.com/2015/05/alibaba-reveals-retro-way-fight-counterfeits-qr-codes/
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Help Us Fight Fakes, Alibaba’s Security Chief Tells Global Brands
When it comes to fighting fakes, Alibaba’s head of internet security says cooperation beats the courtroom any day. Ni Liang, who runs the Hangzhou, China-based company’s anti-counterfeiting operations, was speaking to Reuters days after Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and other luxury brands owned by Paris-based Kering SA sued Alibaba in New York, alleging the e-commerce giant had knowingly made it possible for counterfeiters to sell fakes.
Ni said brands had a better chance of succeeding in clamping down on the pervasive counterfeit trade if they talked to Alibaba, instead of suing it.
http://recode.net/2015/05/18/help-us-fight-fakes-alibabas-security-chief-tells-global-brands/
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